Early 20th Century French Empire Dore Bronze Eagle Inkwell.

c. 1920. Early 20th Century French Empire Dore bronze inkwell featuring prominently a large bronze eagle flanked by two bronze inkwells on clawed feet. Sited on a green marble base atop two bronze winged lions and two rear feet. The entire piece measures 15.25 inches long, 7.25 inches deep, and 8.5 inches tall. In fine condition. A handsome library decoration. Inkwells became popular after the Romans invaded Egypt in the first century B.C.E., where the earliest examples were used in a highly restricted quantity by Egyptian scribes. The practice of using inkwells to write fell out of primary use in the mid 20th century when fountain pens were developed and nibs were first mass-produced by Josiah Mason in Birmingham England in 1828.